of worcester



' May 30, 1933. R. ca. TURNER 1,911,730

ELECTRICALLY OPERATING WEFT DETEgTINGfiHUTTLE Filed Sept. 26, 1930 17vMEN-r05" /-?/c/-/,4/ P0 G. TURNER g Z77UFINEY5 191 hau sted weftcarrier.

Patented May 3%, 1933 warren stares Brennan GREENLEYAF TURNER, orwoncns'rnn, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGlVOR; To or woacnsrna, MASSACHUSETTS, A003- i 'CROMPTON 8: KNOWLES LOOIYI WORKS,

PQBATION OF MASSACHUSETTS WU E;

.ELEo'rnroALLY, OPERATING. wnrr DETECTING. SHUTTLE This inventionrelates to improvements in spindle shuttles constructed to detect thecondit on of weft, and 1t is the general ob ect of the invention toimprove shuttles of this type 1 and provide a detecting element which iscon.-

being shown inelevatlon', the detector veniently and substantiallymounted.

The usualspindle shuttle has a transverse pivot pin about which thebobbin holding spindle moves to permit removal of an ex- It is animportant object of mypresent invention to provide a weft detectingelement, preferably to cooperate with an electrical circuit, mountedon'the' pivot pin of the spindle so as to render nnecessary theprovision of an additional pivot for the detecting element.

Shuttles of the type specified usually have: someform of spring. clipwhichholds the spindle in both its normal down position and also theinclined position it assumes to permit manipulation of the weft carrier.It isan important object of my presentinvention to construct thedetecting lever so that it will be held by this spring within theoutline of the v split spindle where it cannot interfere withlongitudinal movement of a weft carrier when the spindle is raised toremove the carrier.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide a lightyieldingspring or similar device located between the usual flat spring and aportion of the detecting lever tending to move the latternormally toindicating position but prevented from accomplishing this result by weftpresence; The detecting lever moves preferablyvertically in upright slotcut in the head end of the spindle. It is another" object of myinvention to provide a resilient means to hold the spindle partsseparated so that they will" not clamp against the detector lever andinterfere with free movement of the latter, said reslllent member alsobeing so placed as to serve as a stop tolnnit movement of the' detectorlever in one direction.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as thedescriptionproceedsmy invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth in the claims."In the accompanying drawing wherein'a r Applicati on filed September 2,1930. Serial No. 484,596.

convenient embodiment of my invention is setforth Fig. 1 is a. verticalsectionthrough the central axis of a sh'uttle made' according to mypresent'invention, the tip ends of the shuttle lever being innon-indicating position, i. v Fig. 2 is a top plan view takenin thedirection of arrow 2; Fig. 1, showingthe cop and mass of weft thereon insection,i'part of the top spring which co-acts with the spindle beingremoved for the sake ofclearness;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to a portion of Fig. 1 but with the detectinglever moved to indicating position; t p

Fig. 4 is a'vertical transverselsection on line l4 of'Fig. 3, 1

Fig. 5'is aview similar to Fig. 3 but with the spindle in elevatedposition and-showing the detector lever moved out of the pathof the weftcarrier by thetop spring and sea Fig. 6 is an enlarged top plan views1milar as by welding to form a tip 14. Each of said legs is providedwith a' head15 having a downwardly opening slot 16 fitted over the pivotpin 10. An upper 'or top leaf spring 17 is .held to the shuttle byascrew 18 and co-acts with the heads to hold thespindle normally down inthe position shown in Fig.

1 with a lip 19 on one or both heads engaging a portion of the shuttlebody to limit angular movement of the spindle in a right hand directionas viewed-in Fig. 1. l

The two legs are spaced-and define between them a vertical slot 20inwhich is mounted an 'electrical weft detector lever 21 the right handend of which as'shown in Fig. 1 is'provided with a roundedprojectionoryarn engaging finger 22; The lever has" a down-' wardly opening slot23'formed in the header left end thereof as'viewed in Fig. 1 to fitover' engages the coils of smallest diameter on the carrier lying acrossthe slot and are held by them against upward movement under action ofspring 25.

Asshownin-Fig. 6 the. legs l2,and 13 are provided with aligning pockets29 which receive opposite ends of a small-stiff compression; spring 30which tends normally/co.

holdzthelegsin spaced relation so they will not cramp the lever; Thisspring also engages the bottomiof; the lever .to limit downwardmovementof the latter with respect to the spindle. v

The shuttle is particularly'adaptable for electrical indication: of weftexhaustion and has inone wallthereof contact plates 31 and 32 which areplaced to contact with brushes 33 and; 34,. respectively, everyalternate beat of the loom. Plate 32 has electrical connec-- tion withthe pin: 10 and is therefore electrically connected at all times withthe lever, the

spring'25 assisting in maintaining good electmcal' contact between thepin. andv the lever.

' Theother'plate 31. is connected'by means of a wire 35 to a. bottomleaf spring 36 held by meansof arscrew:3 7 to the bodyof'the shuttleand. havinga. free inw ardly projecting end 381pnovided with. arib-39: qThe latter is nor-- mallyzpositioned out of contact with an arm 40depending from the lever. The upper end of the lever is providedwith anotch 41 positioned forengagement with the inner end of raised;

Under-normal: conditions when asufiicient supply-of weft 1s presentthe-finger 22 will the upper spring 1.? when the. spindle isbeconfined'wit hinthe outline of the carrier 2T,.or:willihe held intherelativelyflow positlQIIZShOWIIrlH Fig. 1- withv arm 40 out ofcontactiwithztheirib 39: Under those conditions theme isno electrical."connection between the plates 31 -and-r32; and the-loom continues tooperate without change. When the weft becomessufficicntly'depletedtto-uncover the slot 28;, however, the finger 22will move up wardly therethrough; around'the pivot 10 under: influenceof the light compression Spring25... This angular movement of thelevenwill' bring thearmA-O into contact with the rib 39, therebyelectrically connecting the plates 31' andz32 so that the brushes incontact withrthe-plates'may close an external circuitnot sh'own'andthereby elfect achange in the operatibn. ofwtheiloomp. This: change may:

cause either stopping of the loom or an exchange of shuttles, and itwill subsequently be necessary for the operator to remove'the spent weftcarrier and replace it with one having a .full supply of yarn.

In order to remove the old cop the spindle is moved to the inclinedelevated position shown in Fig. 5. It will be noted that as the spindleis raised the top spring 17. will: engage a surface ll of the lever andpositively lower the latter to move the finger 22 to a position withinthe outline of the spindle, thereby permittingthe cop or weft carrier tobe removed.

The spindle has the usual screw thread T which. cuts into the innersurface of the cop to hold the latter in placel A rotary move.- mentofthe copis necessary to place it on. or

remove it from the spindle,.and it is for this reason that finger. 22must bemoved out of.

the slot in the cop so asto permit free turn ing of the latter..This-result is accomplished by the mechanism j'ust'described.

The springs 17 and. 30 areso placed'that the. downward force exerted bythe former.

will pass between the pivot pin- 10 and. the

compression spring 30 which acts asv astop forthe lever;Inthiswaythelever is-held. in a definite positionwith. itsdetectingend'located within the outline ofthe spindleand. the fingerout of the slot28 in the cop. If desired the under side of the lever can be'soconstructed as to engage asolidpart. of the cop atjall times whenthespindle is inclined. and thereby prevent, the under side of the leverfrom entering the slot.

When thespindle is .elevatedto the position shown in Fig.5 the top'leafspring 17f will coact with the heads 15 toholdthespindle:raised.. Duringthe liftingiof the spindle lower spring 36 yields as arm 40,passes.fromthe .outer totheinner. side'of theribr39, movingfrom the position sho.wnin:ll-ig-.. 3.to-that shown in Fig. 5. r 4

. When the fresh cop isbeing applied to the spindle the detectorv leverwillremainwin the, position showninFig. .5.so as not, tointerfere. withrotary movement of. the cop.. The.

proper longitudinal and angular positionof the cop is determined bymeans of. a. marker or the like so as .to eauseathe slot 28 to register.

with thefinger 22, after which the spindle maybe depressed: totheposit-ion. shown in; Fig. 1. This latter movement will ree'stab lishconnection between thespring 25- and the arm 24: and presence of yarnacross the slot 28 will-hold the arm 40 out of contact weft engagingdetccting'leve r is mounted onthe spindle pivot and movable in the slotbetween the two legs ofthe spindle. Further.-

more, the spring at the top of the. shuttle which'co-acts llithellstlalway. with thespindle head servesealso to depressthe detector lever sothat the fingerend'of the flatter Will move out'of slot 28 :iii' thecop, thereby permitting uninterrupted rotary movement-of thevc op aroundthe: spindle. It will also be seen that the light spring 25 pushesdownwardly on the arm 24 to insure good contact between the lever andits pivotal support and also requires the finger 22 to move against 103the yarn on the carrier. It will be further noted that the small stiffcoiled spring which holds the spindle legs separated acts as a stop forthe detector lever andis so placed that the top flat spring 17 mayco-act with the pivot pin 10 and the stiff spring 30 to place the leveraccurately and definitely within the outline of the spindle;

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes andmodifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wishto be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a shuttle, a spindle to hold a supply of weft and having a slot, apivot for the spindle extending across the slot and around which thespindle moves, a detector element in the slot pivotally mounted on thespindle pivot and normally held in a given position when a sufiicientsupply of weft is present, and limited as to movements in oppositedirections along the pivot by the spindle, and means acting at weftexhaustion to move the 355 element angularly from the given to anindicating position about the spindle pivot when the supply of weft isexhausted.

2. In a shuttle, a spindle having a longitudinally extending slottherein, a pivot for the spindle carried by the shuttle and extendingacross the slot, a detector lever located in the slot and movable aboutand supported by the spindle pivot, and limited asto movements inopposite directions along the pivot by the spindle, the lever normallyheld in a given position when sufficient weft is present, and meanseffective to move the lever angularly from said normal to an indicatingposition about the pivot when insufficient weft is present. r

3. In a shuttle, a spindle to carry a supply of weft, a pivot for thespindle, said spindle having a vertical longitudinally extending slottherein, a pair of spaced heads on the spindle, one on each side of theslot, mounted on the pivot, a detector lever having pivotal connectionwith the spindle pivot between the heads, and means effective at weftexhaustion to move the detector lever about the spindle pivot toexhaustion indicating position.

4. In a shuttle, a spindle to carry a supply of weft, a pivot for thespindle, said spindle having a pair of spaced longitudinally extendinglegs each mounted on the pivot, a

weft detector lever. mounted on-the spindle pivot-between the legs, andnormally acting yielding means to move the detectorlever about thespindle pivot to indicating position j when insufficient weft'remains onthe spindle Ina shuttle, aweft supportingspindle', having a slot, a weftdetecting elenient,-lo-

cated in the slot. and] limited as to lateral movements in oppositedirections by the spindle, and: a common pivotal support for the spindleand element about which the latter moves oted-thereto, a weft detectingfinger movable from-a position within the spindle te po-; sition partlyout'of the spindle to indicate weftexhaustion, andcommon meansto holdthespindle in inclined weft receiving posi- 7 tion andjalso to hold thedetector finger with-.

in thespindle. p 7

7; In a shuttle, a weft carrying spindle pivoted thereto, a weftdetecting finger normally located within thev outline'of the spin dleand movable to a position projecting be-' yond the spindle outline toindicate weft exhaustion, and means to hold the spindle in inclinedposition to receive a fresh supply of weft, said means efiective whenthe spindle is so inclined to move the finger to a a weft 'carrierhavinga slot therein which may be rotated about the spindle'when being appliedthereto, a detector finger to lie nor,-

mally within the carrier when sufficient weft is present, 'andtending tomove through the slot to indicateweft exhaustion, and means to hold thespindle ininclined position to receive a fresh supply of weft, saidmeans also preventing the'finger" from entering the slot-as the carrieris rotated on the spindle while the latteris in inclined position. a 49. In a shuttle, a weft carrying spindle pivoted thereto, a weft carrierslidably and rotatablymounted on thespindle and having a detecting slotthereiniacross which weftextends when sufiicient'weft is present, adetector finger movable from a positionwithin the carrier through theslot to indicate weft exhaustion, said finger tending norto move throughthe slot, andmeans mally to hold the spindle in inclined position toreceive a fresh supply of'weft, said means effective when the spindle is,so inclined to I prevent the finger from entering theslot as thecarrier is rotated "on the spindle.

Y 10. In a shuttle, weft carrying spindle having'a mass of weft thereon,a pivot there-c for, a rigid detector lever'mounted on v thespindlepivot, a detector finger forming'part pivotally when indicatingweft ex- -hau'stion. i v 1 6, In a shuttle, a weft carrying spindle'piv-.

I outwardly :and yielding means acting-on the offthealever and located:nonmallyiwithinithe the'zdetector.imtheslottin aadirection parallel w;c {9' ft and; tendin toumovg to. theespindle movement's; c i Ound" missWe g IntestimonyrwhereofiIThaveahereuntoeafr lever toun'ove thefingeragainst tlie aveft and fixed im'yislgnatumlefi'ective' atweftexhaustion tomovethe fin-*- ger outwardly and angularly about theSplII dle pivot; the pivot and lever formingpart of an: electricindicating circuit, and the yieldingmeans insuring good contact betweenzthedever and pivot as-well aseffective to give-indicatingmovementto the finger.

1 1. In a shuttle, a spindle pivoted thereto and movabletoan inclinedposition 'to re-- ceive a fresh supply of Weft, said spindl'ebe in'g=formed oi twospaced} resilient legs, a detector-finger located betweenthe legs, a

relatively strong resilient element "located between the legs to holdthemapart to insure clearance for the finger so the lattenrnay movefreely; said resilient element acting as a stop-to l mitflmovement ofthe fingerrelatively to the spindle in onedire'ctiom 1-2LIn a shuttle, apivoted spindle having two spacc'd legs a relativelystron g resilientelement 'tending to separate-the legs, a detector finger located betweenthe legs and movable transversely of the spindle in one" dIIG'CtlOIl toindlcate weft exhaustion, and} means to-hold' thespindle-dn inclinedpositionfrelatively to the weft to receive a fresh supply of weft, saidmeans engaging the finger when: the spindle is inclined to move the samein a direction opposite to. thatvin which it moves to indicateexhaustion; said resilient element acting. as a stop to limit the lastnamedimovement offthe finger caused? by the means.v

13. In a shuttle, aspindlepivotedto the shuttle tobe moved upwardlyfromaposition within the shuttle -.to apositon: inclined;

tothe longitudinal axis ofthe-shuttle, a de'- tector lcven pivoted withrespect to; the shut tle and moving withithe'spindle asthelattcr is'raised; a: resilient electric contact for the detector element, asunicient' supply of weft on the spindle holding; the 'detector'elementout of engagementwith the resilient contact,

means to move the detector element intoto permit the contact element-tomove with the spindle beyond normal? contacting .posi

' tective when thespindle is aised to move AF'TURNEB;

